Perhaps 1 million Ukrainians have settled in Russia since the conflict in Ukraine began in 2014. President Vladimir Putin promised that Russian-speaking Ukrainians would be welcome. But it was largely an empty gesture.

El Perro Del Mar is a musician from Gothenburg, Sweden. Her real name is Sarah Assbring. The inspiration behind her latest album started with a visit to a museum that had instruments from around the globe. She included many of these on her new album, Kokoro.

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07/08/2016 - 11:15pm

Iceland made history this week, but not in a good way. For the first time since the nation became an independent republic, armed police shot and killed a man, startling a population accustomed to peace.

What does it mean to be white? And what does it mean to be Hispanic? Being a Spaniard from Barcelona, Jaime Gonzalez always considered himself to be European and white. But as a BBC reporter working in California — he has found that many Americans see him differently.

In France, government-funded agencies help people save their loved ones from so-called cults. But that list includes groups like the Jehovah's Witnesses and, not too long ago, Baptists. Some of them are now fighting back in courts.

Sometimes we choose dogs — and sometimes they choose us. A scruffy, yellow Ecuadorean street dog followed a team of Swedish trekkers on a race through the Amazon. He became the star of the race and ended up becoming the trusty companion to the team's captain.

You may have noticed that more and more wine bottles — even expensive ones — are increasingly coming with screw tops and synthetic stoppers. You might not think much about the stopper when you make a purchase, but cork producers want you to start. They're mounting a campaign to show that real cork is better for the planet.

People around the world are up in arms about the way Danish zoo officials killed a healthy giraffe and fed it to the lions. But the zoo is defending its decision as a way of protecting the giraffe population from inbreeding.

Grand juries decided not indict the police officers who killed Michael Brown and Eric Garner. The decision enraged many Americans, who questioned why the incidents didn't deserve an open trial — exactly the reason why the UK, the originator of grand juries, abolished its own system long ago.